A/60/PV.32 General Assembly

This year has been one of unprecedented international attention to Africa’s development. Norway welcomes that. We are strongly committed to the fight against poverty, to working with African countries and institutions and — together with our international partners — to promoting a reform agenda that can bring about positive changes for the people of Africa. For that reason, we fully subscribe to the Africa Action Plan, and will continue to play an active role within the Africa Partnership Forum, in close cooperation with our African partners and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). The challenge is to sustain the level of international attention and ensure the implementation of the commitments made. Last week in London, the Africa Partnership Forum took up the key role that it has been assigned to monitor and advance commitments affecting Africa’s development. Norway, as the country holding the co-chairmanship in 2006, intends to do its best to ensure that Africa Partnership Forum can fulfil its role and develop a mutual monitoring process to assess progress. The pioneering work by the Economic Commission for Africa and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on mutual review of development effectiveness is an important contribution in that context. In order to achieve our aims for Africa’s development, we will have to address a number of issues. First of all, we will have to reform the international framework conditions, which means debt cancellation and improved trade and investment regimes. Promising steps on debt relief have already been taken by the Bretton Woods institutions, and we look forward to their implementation. To reduce poverty and achieve progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, the poorer countries in Africa must also be able to acquire their own income, and that can be achieved primarily through trade. Market access is thus crucial, and in that respect the successful conclusion of the ongoing Doha round in the World Trade Organization negotiations is also essential for the development agenda. But we also need more and better aid. More of our efforts should be focused on the poorest countries, and donors should be far better at coordinating, harmonizing and aligning their assistance with the recipient countries. We appreciate the commitments of the Group of Eight to double their aid to Africa by 2010, and urge all donor partners to make faster progress towards increasing their official development assistance (ODA) with a view to achieving the United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income. Norway has already made a commitment to increase Norwegian ODA to 1 per cent of our gross national income, which also means greater resources for Africa. Improving the quality and effectiveness of aid should be an urgent concern for all partners. Norway is fully committed to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, and we are in the process of reviewing our procedures to ensure that we can deliver on those commitments. Norway is also committed to becoming a more predictable donor by introducing a system of multi- year allocations to key partner countries and key United Nations organizations, by being more transparent about financing scenarios and about which indicators may trigger reduced or increased allocation to our partner countries and by being a partner in joint assistance strategies, whereby financing scenarios are presented jointly with other donors, wherever possible. Norway is committed to aligning our support to partner countries’ poverty-reduction strategies, policies and systems by providing aid to the governmental sector through the treasury; providing an increasing part of the support to key partner countries as general budget support and sector-wide programme support, jointly with other donors; using partner countries’ systems for public finance management, reporting and procurement, wherever those systems have an acceptable standard; and supporting capacity development on an untied basis, together with other donors. Norway will contribute to increased aid efficiency by concentrating its cooperation on two or three sectors by country and will work for complementarity among donors. It will pull out of overcrowded sectors at our partner countries’ request. We will accept the status of silent partner and delegate the follow-up responsibility to another donor when donor numbers by sector are high. We will replace our own country strategy and memorandum of understanding processes with participation in joint processes, as in Uganda, Zambia and Tanzania. Only African countries themselves can ensure sustainable growth and development on the African continent. Even if we as donors, and the international community as a whole, try to do all the right things in trade, debt relief, aid and aid reform, we will still fail in reducing poverty and promoting growth if the African countries themselves do not also play their part, especially in terms of fighting corruption and promoting good governance. Without accountability, development performance will not improve, and without performance, international commitments and increased aid cannot be sustained. For that reason, we are very pleased that most African countries today are seriously trying to address those issues and are working jointly towards reform in governance, not least within the framework of NEPAD and its African Peer Review Mechanism. Norway has, over the years, supported programmes for increasing the capacity of the African Union (AU) to deal with peace and security, and we will continue to do so. We believe that the new role played by AU for security and conflict management, through its Peace and Security Council and the African Peace Facility, has been a major contributing factor to reducing the level of armed conflict on the continent. The AU itself has also taken on important and difficult peacekeeping operations, in Burundi and, more recently, in the Darfur region of the Sudan, which are combined with active diplomacy for peacemaking. We commend those efforts and strongly support international endeavours to assist the AU with whatever assistance, financial or logistical, may be required in that respect. We also urge the parties to such conflicts, particularly in Darfur, to work constructively with the mediators to resolve the outstanding issues so as to bring peace and stability to the people of that region where there is so much suffering. At the same time, we strongly deplore and condemn the recent kidnappings and killings in Darfur of personnel of the African Union Mission in Sudan, which seriously threatens both the peace efforts and international assistance to the region. We believe that the African Union, in close cooperation with NEPAD and the existing subregional organizations, can play an increasingly important role in enhancing economic cooperation and integration throughout the African continent. That would represent an important impetus for Africa’s development and for the realization of the Millennium Development Goals. Nana Effah-Apenteng (Ghana): My delegation warmly welcomes the reports by the Secretary-General on which we are holding this joint debate on progress in the implementation of and international support for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace in Africa. They give us a panoramic view of developments over the past year in the contradictory spheres of development and conflict on the African continent. The two issues are interlinked, particularly in the African context, because no purposeful development programmes can be pursued in an environment of violent conflict and insecurity. The untold suffering caused to vulnerable segments of African society, namely, women, children and the aged, as the result of violent conflicts and the attendant desolation of vast expanses of fertile, arable land continues to make headlines in the international media and provoke our horror and dismay. It sets back the clock of progress in the areas directly affected and undermines the collective effort to eradicate poverty and hunger from the African continent. Against this dismal backdrop, the urgency of consolidating the requisite conditions for durable peace and development throughout Africa cannot be overemphasized. This debate comes soon after the conclusion of the 2005 summit, at which the international community made far-reaching and unambiguous commitments in various domains to help meet the special needs of Africa. As stated in the Secretary-General’s report on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa, the two major threats to durable peace and sustainable development in Africa are, first, economic and social threats, including poverty, infectious diseases and environmental degradation, and, secondly, internal conflict, including civil war, genocide and other large- scale atrocities. Concerning the second threat, we wish to register our deep appreciation for the strengthening of the capacity of the African Union (AU) to intervene in conflicts on the continent through the establishment of the African Peace Facility, with funding by the European Union to support AU peace operations and capacity-building. The enhanced capacity of the AU should, in our view, be complemented by a willingness on the part of belligerent parties to use dialogue to ensure successful mediation and peaceful resolution of conflicts by the AU Peace and Security Council. We also wish to acknowledge the direct bilateral technical assistance and financial support provided by the Group of Eight (G-8) countries, not only to the AU, but to other subregional organizations, such as the Economic Community of West African States, to bolster their efforts at conflict prevention and crisis management. With the AU Peace and Security Council firmly in place, we call for practical measures to fully operationalize the African peace and security architecture, to enable the African Union to pursue a more interventionist policy of conflict management in Africa than in the past, with the support of the United Nations system. In this connection, it is pertinent to mention the unambiguous commitments made by the international community in the 2005 summit outcome document to assist Africa in peacekeeping and the call for the speedy implementation of practical measures to achieve the desired ends. The elimination of economic and social threats, including poverty, infectious diseases and environmental degradation, is a fundamental objective of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development. The achievement of this objective, as acknowledged in the Secretary-General’s report, is a complex and painstaking process, requiring sustained coordination at national and subregional levels to ensure the effective implementation of the key priority areas of NEPAD. The challenges posed by the initiative in this domain are formidable and will be addressed later. For now, we wish to acknowledge the progress made in the various sectors discussed in the report. It is quite clear from the report that a lack of technical capacity is one of the major impediments to building and maintaining infrastructure in Africa. In this regard, we welcome the efforts by the NEPAD Secretariat to expedite action on priority projects, such as capacity-building for NEPAD implementing agencies, including subregional economic communities, institutional coordination, mobilization of resources, information sharing and monitoring. To aid these efforts, we call for the speedy implementation of the commitment by the international community in the 2005 summit outcome document to support the building of an international infrastructure consortium involving the African Union, the World Bank and the African Development Bank, with NEPAD as the main framework, to facilitate public and private infrastructure investment in Africa. The health sector is one of the most daunting priority areas of NEPAD and we therefore note with satisfaction the successful efforts of the NEPAD Secretariat and other parties in advocating policies, plans and projects within the African Union/NEPAD Health Strategy, which has led various countries to use that strategy in advancing their health plans. We also appreciate the concerted efforts that are being made to deal with the problem of malaria in Africa. Yet, Africa is not out of the woods, since malaria is still considered the major killer of children under the age of five. We also commend the mainstreaming of HIV/AIDS projects into the work of NEPAD programmes and welcome the news that the provision of antiretroviral treatment on the continent is expanding. We are, however, dismayed by the precarious state of health services throughout the African continent, caused by the massive exodus of trained health workers to seek better opportunities in industrialized countries. The migration of skilled professionals poses special challenges to African countries, especially as they have, in general, limited human resources. We share the view that, without a functional health system, most of the elements of disease-based programmes cannot be effectively delivered. We call for an imaginative solution to the problem that takes into account the broader economic and political factors that influence many of the health problems in Africa. In this regard, we endorse the recommendation by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) that a third of the proposed increased development aid be allocated to health. We are pleased to note that the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), which aims at improving agricultural productivity and reducing hunger throughout the continent, registered some of the most significant developments in the priority areas of NEPAD during the year under review. In this regard, we wish to recall the Maputo Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security in Africa, adopted in July 2003, and to exhort all African countries to work towards the goal of allocating 10 per cent of their national budgetary resources to agriculture within five years, as agreed. We warmly welcome the financial support of $47 million given to CAAPD by the United States and the other initiatives of support by the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom and the International Fund for Agricultural Development for the CAAPD agenda. It is a source of deep satisfaction to us that the peer review panel has completed country reviews for Ghana and Rwanda and presented the reports to the African Peer Review Mechanism in Abuja for discussion. We acknowledge the complexities of the peer review process, particularly since this is the first time such a review is being embarked upon in Africa. In this regard, it would be useful for the peer review panel to collate the experiences of the pioneering countries into guidelines to clarify the procedures of the new peer review for the benefit of other countries that have yet to undertake or complete the process. As noted earlier, there are serious challenges clearly identified in the Secretary-General’s report that need to be addressed in order to enhance purposeful actions by African countries and organizations. The first is the dearth of capacity in the national and subregional institutions that have the task of implementing NEPAD. This, in our view, calls for urgent and targeted measures to equip the institutions concerned with the requisite technical expertise and financial resources to enable successful implementation of NEPAD programmes and projects. A second challenge is how to achieve greater coherence and coordination between national development plans and NEPAD. This task is not easy and is closely linked to the issue of capacity-building. It will require building a consensus implementation committee on a well focused list of NEPAD priorities and their national linkages through NEPAD focal points within governmental structures. The third major difficulty is the promotion of a greater involvement of the private sector in the implementation of NEPAD programmes and projects. To surmount this hurdle, the institutions involved in the implementation of these programmes and projects should undertake highly targeted marketing campaigns at various levels, on the basis of clear guidelines, aimed at attracting private sector participation. We welcome the unequivocal commitment made by the international community in the 2005 outcome document to provide coherent support for NEPAD programmes, particularly by facilitating approval of such programmes by the multilateral financial institutions. As articulated by NEPAD, the channels for external resource flows to African countries are official development assistance (ODA), debt relief, trade and foreign investment. On development assistance, there appears to be a new determination to increase the volume of aid and to improve its quality. However, we wish to reaffirm the point made in the report of the Secretary-General that, notwithstanding the increase in ODA to Africa, the changing composition of aid flows means that there are fewer resources to support the goals of NEPAD and the Millennium Development Goals. That is due in part to the fact that since 2001 the share of aid resources devoted to technical cooperation, emergency aid and debt forgiveness has risen, leading to a reduction of budgetary support for development. In order to reverse that trend and ensure that new pledges of increased aid levels impact positively on development in Africa, we endorse the call for aid resources to be channelled to the key programmes and sectors of NEPAD in a sustained, effective and timely manner. Debt relief needs to be a major area of cooperation between African countries and their development partners. We therefore welcome the commitment by the international community to promote a comprehensive and durable solution to the problem. In that regard, we are encouraged by the World Bank Development Committee’s endorsement, in Washington on 25 September, of the Group of Eight proposal to cancel 100 per cent of multilateral debt owed by 18 eligible heavily indebted poor countries, 14 of which are African countries. We urge debt relief to be broadened to cover both multilateral and bilateral debt for all low-income African countries and urge substantial debt relief for middle-income countries as well. As equitable trade is the key to long-term growth and development in Africa, it is lamentable to note that this is the sector that has shown the least progress in the year under review. Over the last 25 years, Africa’s share of world exports has been declining, from approximately 6 per cent in 1980 to approximately 2 per cent in 2004, for the continent as a whole. Sub- Saharan Africa’s share of world exports is estimated at 1.5 per cent. The World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial meeting in Hong Kong in December should provide an opportunity for all WTO members, especially industrialized countries, to demonstrate the sincerity of the commitment they declared at the 2005 World Summit outcome document (resolution 60/1) to work expeditiously towards implementing the development dimension of the Doha work programme. With specific reference to Africa, we wish to stress the importance of the recommendation contained in the report of the Secretary-General (A/60/178) for the promotion and expansion of initiatives such as the “aid for trade” agenda to help Africa’s efforts to diversify its productive base and move away from commodities towards semi-manufactured and processed goods. As stated in the report, foreign direct investment flows to Africa are meagre and lopsided, with the greater portion going to investment in natural resource exploitation, driven by a strong global demand. This situation favours those countries richly endowed with natural resources such as oil, gold and diamonds. We share the expectation that successful efforts in capacity-building and investment in essential infrastructure — roads, electricity and telecommunications — will boost the flow of foreign direct investment to African countries, especially in export-oriented manufacturing. In that connection, we look forward with interest to the launching in October this year of the Investment Climate Facility for Africa, which seeks to identify and overcome the obstacles hindering a business-friendly investment climate in Africa. Through its funds and programmes, the United Nations system has been a bulwark in the advocacy for, and delivery of, international support to Africa. We commend the institutional support increasingly provided by the United Nations system to African countries, the African Union, subregional organizations and NEPAD, and we call on the funds, programmes and agencies of the United Nations to further improve their coordination of support for a more effective performance. We also endorse the call for the establishment of a mechanism for regular and comprehensive consultations between the United Nations system and the African Union to ensure a smooth interface between the two organizations. In conclusion, let me reaffirm the importance we attach to establishing mutual accountability as we await the pledged increases in aid to Africa. We share the view that accountability is imperative to generating mutual trust and ensuring improved development performance and sustained aid increases. In that connection, we look forward to the early implementation of the decision to use the African Partnership Forum as an arena for identifying strategic issues to galvanize the implementation of NEPAD priorities, including the monitoring of commitments made to support those priorities.

I thank the Secretary-General for the third consolidated report on progress in implementation and international support on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), contained in document A/60/178. We also wish to express our appreciation and gratitude to Mr. Ibrahim Gambari for his work in his previous capacity as Special Adviser on Africa, as well as his work on the implementation of NEPAD by the United Nations system. Tanzania associates itself with the statements made by Namibia on behalf of the African Group, Lesotho on behalf of the Southern African Development Community, and Jamaica on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. Since its creation four years ago, NEPAD has continued to engage itself in priority programmes for realizing its objectives. Its broad objective is promoting subregional and continental integration, the utilization of economies of scale, poverty eradication, the realization of entrepreneurial potential and the free movement of goods, services and factors of production on the continent. At the continental level, we welcome the initiatives by the NEPAD secretariat, in collaboration with the African Union Commission, in formulating implementation strategies, in particular in the areas of improving Africa’s competitiveness in international trade by collectively negotiating for better market access, increasing the quantity, quality and effectiveness of official development assistance, pushing for debt cancellation and enhancing aid delivery and the coherence and coordination of development assistance. In addition, an effort has been made to improve food production, agricultural research, the dissemination of technology and the development of physical and social infrastructure, as well as to spearhead interventions on HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other communicable diseases. Recognizing the interlinkages between peace, security and development, the NEPAD secretariat, in collaboration with the African Union (AU), has prepared a joint AU-NEPAD peace and security agenda, outlining peace and security priorities, with a focus on targeting conflict prevention and resolution, including the strengthening of peacekeeping operations. The African Union (AU) and subregional organizations such as the Economic Community of West African States and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development have undertaken significant initiatives with respect to the conflicts in various countries on the continent. The next step is to move beyond peacekeeping and ensure durable peace and development under the NEPAD framework. It is in that regard that we welcome the early establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission, in accordance with the 2005 High-level Plenary Meeting decision, because the Commission would address the special needs of countries emerging from conflict and moving towards recovery and reconstruction and would assist them in laying the foundations for sustainable development and preventing a relapse into conflict. Africa needs the Commission up and running as soon as possible to permit NEPAD programmes to be implemented as part of post-conflict strategies. Tanzania is pleased to be part of the 23 member States of the African Union to have joined the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). Early this year, Tanzania ratified the APRM, and its secretariat has already been invited to start the review process in Tanzania. The Government of Tanzania has put in place some important structures in line with APRM guidelines, including the implementation of legal sector reform programmes and the strengthening of the judicial system. Other initiatives strengthen mechanisms to fight corruption and establish the Human Rights and Good Governance Commission, the Prevention of Corruption Bureau, the Ethics Secretariat and the Good Governance Coordination Unit in the President’s Office. Important as the issues of democracy and good governance are to Africa’s development, NEPAD should make equally significant progress in implementing tangible economic and social programmes that are already on its agenda. The challenges and constraints outlined in the Secretary- General’s report must be overcome. All partners and stakeholders must live up to their commitments. The momentum and the euphoria that NEPAD has generated must not be allowed to wane. Implementation of both the NEPAD objectives and the Millennium Project recommendations should coincide in order to realize the Millennium Development Goals in Africa and enable Africa to sustain its development beyond 2015. Tanzania has prepared priority programmes to promote and support NEPAD through private sector involvement, bilateral and multilateral support and regional cooperation. Some of those include the Ruvuma River Unity Bridge, at the border between Mozambique and Tanzania; the Mtwara corridor project in the southern part of Tanzania, which has economic integrating potential for both Mozambique and Malawi; the Zambia-Tanzania-Kenya power interconnection programme and East African Community road development programmes. Some of the programmes have also been submitted to the secretariat of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for consolidation into regional ones. By virtue of its geographic location, Tanzania has an obligation to provide transit facilities to neighbouring landlocked countries in the SADC region and in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa. Assistance to Tanzania and NEPAD should therefore factor in Tanzania’s historical role in that regard. It is my Government’s expectation that, once approved at the regional level, those projects will duly attract international attention and support. Finally, Tanzania welcomes a number of positive initiatives that have been made this year to address the needs of Africa. We note with appreciation the focus placed on the special needs of Africa and NEPAD at the Commission for Africa and the G-8, as well as by the 2005 outcome document of the High-level Plenary Meeting (resolution 60/1). We also appreciate the expressed interest and commitment to support NEPAD by the European Union, the Bretton Woods institutions, the Nordic States, The Commonwealth and the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) process, as well as the entire United Nations system. South-South cooperation in the entire spectrum of development has proved to be a most valuable partnership in implementing NEPAD programmes. We appreciate and encourage greater South-South cooperation. NEPAD has been heralded as a showcase of Africa’s ownership of its development process. But the context has to remain international, as Africa is inextricably linked to the process of globalization, with all its benefits and challenges. The partnership has to be a mutually reinforcing undertaking by all of Africa’s partners and friends, as expressed by the statements made by various representatives today.

My delegation aligns itself with the statement made earlier by the representative of Jamaica, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, the representative of Namibia, on behalf of the African Group, and the representative of the Kingdom of Lesotho, on behalf of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Allow me to express through you, Mr. Vice- President, my Government’s profound gratitude to the Secretary-General for his third consolidated report on progress in implementation and international support for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) (A/60/178). That report, along with others, provides useful insight into the progress made and the measures needed to address the special needs of Africa. Four years have elapsed since the document that outlined NEPAD’s vision, principles and priorities was adopted by the Assembly of African Heads of State and Government. What followed was the preparation and approval of policy frameworks and strategic plans in the following priority areas: the capacity of the African Union to support peace operations; standards and guidelines for the African Peer Review Mechanism, which is NEPAD’s instrument for promoting good governance; NEPAD’s health strategy; the Education Action Plan now under review; the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme; the Short-Term Action Plan for Infrastructure Development; the Science and Technology Strategic Plan; the Environment Action Plan; the Tourism Action Plan and the African Productive Capacity Action Plan. These frameworks and plans reaffirm the principles of African ownership and responsibility for the continent’s development; the promotion and advancement of democracy, human rights, good governance and accountable leadership; self-reliant development to reduce dependency on aid; the building of capacity in African institutions; the speeding up of regional economic integration; promoting the advancement of women; strengthening Africa’s voice in international forums; and the forging of partnerships with African civil society and the private sector. My Government shares the Secretary-General’s assessment that in the past year “there have been important regional actions and greater international response in support of Africa’s development.” (A/60/178, summary) We note with satisfaction the engagement of national, subregional and regional efforts, including those of our partners and relevant stakeholders, in the implementation of projects encompassing the full range of priority areas identified by NEPAD. In some instances that engagement has taken the form of facilitating the implementation of, and seeking support for, agreed actions with regard to building the capacity of regional economic communities and national implementing authorities. In other instances that engagement has taken the form of the African Development Bank’s financing of facilities. United Nations agencies and organizations remain important partners in advocating for, and the delivery of, international support for Africa. The Assembly’s adoption of resolution 57/7 gave special momentum to that process. In that regard, it is imperative to continue to take measures to strengthen the Office of the Special Adviser of the Secretary- General on Africa, including through adequate staffing for that Office, in order to enable it to effectively fulfil its mandate. In addition, we encourage United Nations funds, programmes and specialized agencies to strengthen coordination, cohesion and programming mechanisms as a means of enhancing support for African countries. Analysing the progress made in the implementation of NEPAD is in many ways a test of the international community’s commitment to address the development and special needs of Africa. Its success depends largely upon changes in the donor- recipient relationship, in particular as it relates to improving the role and impact of aid. The Secretary- General’s report provides us with information on actions taken thus far, but also clearly recognizes that much more still remains to be done. Allow me to outline a few of those areas. During the last year we were afforded an opportunity to welcome initiatives and commitments to significantly increase aid flows to Africa, including in particular the very positive and encouraging decision of the European Union to establish a timetable to reach the target of 0.7 per cent in official development assistance (ODA). We hope that other developed countries will follow suit. However, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), increases in the levels of ODA have not necessarily meant equivalent increases in aid to Africa. Furthermore, an increasing percentage of aid to Africa is being allocated to non-development activities such as emergency relief and debt forgiveness. While those are important and necessary objectives, they should not undermine, or compete with, the support needed for the implementation of development projects and programmes envisaged under NEPAD. In addition, increases in ODA must be accompanied by actions aimed at scaling up aid effectiveness. NEPAD was conceived to enable ownership, align support, harmonize efforts and ensure mutual accountability. It therefore represents a singular opportunity to make progress in these areas. In that regard, we welcome the signing of a common policy framework between the Tokyo International Conference on African Development and NEPAD and the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership. Furthermore, we encourage continued efforts with a view to the early approval of a common policy framework between the Group of Eight and NEPAD. Debt relief represents another opportunity for meaningful and immediate assistance in support of Africa’s development. Debt relief can play a key role in liberating resources that can be directed towards activities consistent with NEPAD. We welcome the recent proposals of the Group of Eight, and the subsequent approval by the boards of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, to cancel 100 per cent of the outstanding debt of eligible heavily indebted poor countries owed to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank’s International Development Association and the African Development Fund, as well as to provide additional resources to ensure that the financing capacity of the international financial institutions is not reduced. However, we note with concern that many African nations continue to struggle to find a durable solution to their debt problems. The proposed debt relief should therefore be broadened to cover all low- income and middle-income African countries, where debt relief can free up resources for the implementation of projects consistent with NEPAD that ultimately contribute towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals and the implementation of national development strategies and programmes. My delegation remains concerned about the levels of foreign direct investment in Africa. Although such investment has recently increased, returning to 2001 levels, it represents only 3 per cent of global foreign investment flows. Moreover, foreign direct investment tends to flow towards mineral-extraction industries, which traditionally generate limited employment and increase a country’s dependency on natural resources. We are convinced that actions and support in capacity-building and infrastructure development can increase private investment flows into Africa. In that regard, we look forward to the launching of an investment climate facility. We call upon Member States to support it fully, as it is intended to identify and overcome obstacles to the creation and improvement of a business-friendly investment climate in Africa. That will enhance Africa’s attractiveness to foreign direct investment. Angola has adopted its Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, aimed at improving the macroeconomic framework and structural and social policies in order to foster growth and reduce poverty. Angola stands ready to continue its participation in regional and subregional programmes that will enhance the capacity of African countries to respond to African challenges and foster peace, stability and economic growth in the continent. The Government of Angola is encouraged by the progress made in the resolution and prevention of conflicts in Africa. In the past seven years there has been a significant reduction of conflicts in Africa. Promoting peace in Africa requires an integrated and coordinated approach to address the nexus between peace, security, humanitarian aspects, development and post-conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding. Africa’s capacity to harness opportunities for the establishment of durable peace by deploying and undertaking effective peacekeeping operations must be supported. In that regard, we call upon the international community, including the United Nations, to scale up support to the African Union towards that end, as well as with regard to the establishment of an early warning system. Post-conflict reconstruction is understood as a complex system that provides for simultaneous short-, medium- and long-term programmes to prevent disputes from escalating and to avoid a relapse into violent confrontation. Post-conflict reconstruction is ultimately aimed at addressing the root causes of conflict and lays the foundations for social justice and sustainable peace. The continent is currently preparing an African post-conflict reconstruction policy framework that integrates the areas of security, political transition, governance, participation, socio- economic development, human rights, justice, reconciliation, coordination, management and resource mobilization to provide a common framework for post- conflict situations, given their multidisciplinary, multifunctional and multidimensional nature. It is essential that the international community support, and participate in, that undertaking. In that regard, we welcome the decision to establish a Peacebuilding Commission. We look forward to its early operationalization to tackle the root causes of conflict in Africa. Before concluding, allow me to welcome the establishment of new initiatives to control malaria. Such initiatives as the World Bank Booster Project, the United States Government’s new international malaria initiative and the Malaria Control and Evaluation Partnership in Africa hold the promise for increased funding to tackle a preventable disease. While so- called quick wins can help to control the disease, greater emphasis must be placed on strengthening health systems and developing human resources, which are ultimately responsible for programme planning and implementation. We wish to take this opportunity to thank Governments, in particular that of the United States, as well as the World Health Organization, for their important contribution to that end in Angola. I wish to conclude by quoting the Secretary- General’s report on NEPAD: “This is a moment of opportunity for making progress in Africa’s development[,] for which NEPAD is the main policy framework” (Ibid., para. 59).

Last year at the General Assembly, we expressed the hope that 2005 would be the year of development, and thus the year of Africa. I believe that today we can say we were successful. The challenges are of course great, but we can be proud of what has been achieved in recent months. When I say “we”, that of course means, above all, African countries themselves. The conclusions of the July 2005 Sirte summit of the African Union bolstered the efforts made in recent years, but Africa’s partners and the United Nations system have also done their part. France generally shares the analysis and recommendations contained in the report of the Secretary-General (A/60/178). This morning, the representative of the United Kingdom, whose country currently holds the presidency of the European Union, underscored the very considerable resources that Europeans have pledged to devote to support African countries. That exceptional mobilization illustrates, were there a need to do so, how, more than ever before, Africa is at the very centre of European development policy. France’s efforts are of course in keeping with that. France has endorsed NEPAD’s priorities and has, as a result, reassessed its official assistance. This morning we distributed in the Hall a publication outlining the main points of that effort. At Gleneagles, the Group of Eight (G-8) also continued to provide its resolute contribution vis-à-vis Africa, as it has done for several years. I wish also to mention the renewed commitment of the World Bank, whose Development Committee has just endorsed the G-8 Africa Action Plan. As part of its international efforts, the Africa Partnership Forum — which brings together all interested players — provides an indispensable venue for dialogue and joint action. Lastly, the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly, recently held in New York, has enshrined that international mobilization. All of us here are aware of the highlights of the outcome document (resolution 60/1). They relate to momentum for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), support for Africa and its priorities and financing for development, and also include decisions taken for peace and security, such as the support plan for the African Union, the fight against trafficking in small arms and light weapons and the Peacebuilding Commission. No one is better placed than the President of the General Assembly to know that the time has now come for implementation in all forums and in all areas. In this respect, let me highlight four specific points. First, in the area of peace and security, African institutions are steadily growing stronger, and France is actively contributing to this. It is currently modernizing its own arrangements to adapt them to new African realities. France strongly supports the growing commitment of the European Union in this area. We still need to improve the predictability and the coordination of international support. Last year during the discussion of this matter, France proposed that the international community establish a mechanism to support countries emerging from conflict. A decision has now been taken: we need to establish the Peacebuilding Commission in the weeks to come. Secondly, everything needs to be done to enable all African countries to move towards sustainable development. The work in this area is vast and important. We support it in all the forums I have mentioned. Let me highlight here two specific priorities. First of all, I would mention the fight against AIDS. We absolutely need to achieve the goal of universal access to treatment by 2010. France hopes that the special session of the General Assembly to be held in June 2006 will adopt a specific road map tailored to each country. The protection of natural resources is another priority. The degradation of the environment has clearly become one of the major obstacles to development. This change, which is clearly seen in Africa, calls for an appropriate response from the United Nations. This is why France, along with others, believes that the time has come to think about a United Nations organization for the environment, based on the United Nations Environment Programme, which would be the lead specialized institution, with its headquarters in Africa, in Nairobi. The third point relates to financing for development. Progress in this area has been spectacular and has demonstrated the viability of the Monterrey partnership, which in addition draws greatly upon the principles of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). France welcomes in particular the commitments taken recently with respect to official development assistance (ODA) and debt cancellation. We need to deepen our thinking on debt sustainability and on taking into account the outside shocks that are too frequent in Africa. Let us make two additional comments. We know that to achieve the Millennium Goals we will need new, more stable and predictable resources. The work on innovative sources, of which the summit took note, is entering a concrete phase with the implementation by a number of countries of an International Finance Facility pilot project and a levy on aeroplane tickets. France is taking part in these two initiatives. A ministerial conference will be held in Paris in February to move forward on the modalities for implementation. Trade clearly plays a key role. We need to do everything to ensure that development continues to be the aim of the Doha round and that all developing countries, including African countries, truly benefit from its outcome. The European Union has made ambitious proposals to that end. France is pleased that negotiations are truly under way. My final point has to do with the United Nations. We are convinced that the United Nations agencies have a fundamental role to play in development on the ground and in terms of the global debate. The summit clearly confirmed this. The agencies, however, need to continue to adapt to meet the new development challenges, first of all in Africa, where the MDGs are a special challenge. The United Nations Development Group needs to continue its efforts towards establishing consistent United Nations strategies for each country. The task is vast, but the movement is under way. We need to continue to be mobilized and remain resolved, so that the commitments taken become a reality and expectations are not dashed. We know that the President of the General Assembly is personally committed to this.

The Moroccan delegation welcomes this discussion on the implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and we wish, accordingly, to associate ourselves with all of those who have spoken earlier and to reaffirm our commitment to NEPAD. This must be stated time and again. We thank the Secretary-General for his report (A/60/178), which once again gives us a clear account of the endeavours of the African countries primarily concerned to execute the priorities and objectives of NEPAD and also of the support given to them by the international community. The Moroccan delegation associates itself with the statement made by the delegation of Jamaica on behalf of the Group of 77 and China and with the statement made by the representative of Namibia on behalf of the African Group. As noted by the Secretary-General in his report, Africa has benefited from an unprecedented mobilization of international public opinion. The issuance of the report of the Secretary-General’s Advisory Panel on International Support for NEPAD (A/60/85), Jeffrey Sachs’s Millennium Project report (A/59/727) and the report of the United Kingdom’s Commission for Africa, and the launching of a number of private initiatives, have greatly contributed to framing the problem and drawing attention to Africa’s needs in the area of development. For our part, since 2003, when we chaired the Group of 77, we had stressed the need to convene a summit to assess the state of implementation of the Millennium Goals and to place the interests of Africa at the centre of the discussion. Happily, the recent summit yielded specific and positive decisions to assist the African continent. It was decided to increase official development assistance (ODA) to Africa by $25 billion per year by 2010 and to provide all the necessary support to the implementation of NEPAD. At the same time, the commitment of most of the developed countries to set a timetable for attaining the objective of 0.7 per cent of gross national product for ODA will, we hope, secure a degree of continuity in the availability of financial support to our African brothers. An increase in assistance would go hand in hand with an international effort to enhance aid effectiveness. In this regard, we support the implementation of the Paris Declaration and the Marrakesh Declaration in order to enhance aid effectiveness for the benefit of the populations concerned. However, I should like to note that a large part of such assistance is, unfortunately, still granted in the form of debt relief and does not really represent new resources for financing implementation of the MDGs. At the same time, innovative sources of financing, as has been stated, will provide additional resources and will help to support efforts aimed at achieving the MDGs in Africa. We welcome the launching of the International Finance Facility for immunization as well as the planned levies on airline tickets, which Morocco has officially endorsed in full. It is our hope that other countries will be able to join in these efforts. There is no doubt that the success of these initiatives will have an impact on the lives of millions of people living in poverty and despair. Moreover, the commitment of our developed partners to resolve the problems of indebtedness of African countries is another example of solidarity with our African brethren that we welcome. The approval by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund of the Group of Eight (G-8) proposal to cancel 100 per cent of the multilateral debt of highly indebted poor countries is a significant decision, in line with the course mapped out by the Monterrey Consensus and the recent world summit in New York. We welcome that decision and encourage the international community, and the donor community in particular, to strive to find solutions to the problems of indebtedness of all low- and middle-income African countries, which could, we hope, benefit from a substantial reduction in their debt. The endorsement of the G-8 Africa Action Plan by the World Bank Group has also focused the international community’s attention more strongly on the efforts and difficulties of African countries in the struggle against poverty. That, we hope, will lead to an increase in financial support and investments capable of speeding up the attainment of the MDGs within the established time frame. We call on the World Bank to implement the Action Plan as soon as possible. For reasons associated with both geography and history, over the centuries Morocco has had relationships based on economic and cultural exchanges with all its sub-Saharan brothers. In recent years we have launched a number of initiatives based on NEPAD priority areas to establish — together with the private sector — genuine South-South partnerships that stress sustainable development in such priority sectors as agriculture, education, health, the training of managers and the exchange of experience and expertise in various fields. Since we believe that human capital is the essential underpinning of any strategy of sustainable socio-economic development, the Kingdom of Morocco has made the training of African managerial personnel the cornerstone of its cooperation policy with all the countries of the continent. Thus, the training of African managers has been a key facet of the activities of the Moroccan international cooperation agency. Many managers have been trained through academic and technical courses at Moroccan universities and now carry out responsible functions in their own countries. For example, from 2002 to 2005 approximately 7,000 foreign students from 55 countries — 80 per cent of them from sub-Saharan Africa — enrolled in Moroccan public education establishments at the university, technical and professional level. More than 4,800 of those received scholarships or grants from our cooperation agency. Technical cooperation is also an important focus of our policy of cooperation with our African brothers. As we have considerable expertise and know-how in the area of technical cooperation with the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, Morocco has assisted in the implementation of many programmes for the benefit of sub-Saharan African countries financed by various agencies, including the United Nations Development Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. We also collaborate with regional and international donors in tripartite cooperation programmes to assist countries of sub- Saharan Africa, as attested to by the five-year Morocco-Japan programme for francophone countries, which covers maritime fisheries, commercial shipping, road maintenance and drinking water, as well as a special programme on food security in Burkina Faso. Recently cross-sectoral activities have been carried out in all those areas. Lastly, as regards trade, I would underscore Morocco’s commitment to the least developed countries in Africa. We allow those countries duty-free access to our markets, which has led to a considerable increase in exports from those countries to Morocco. We would encourage other developing countries to do the same so as to assist the poorest countries to escape from the trap in which they find themselves. Faithful to the principle of solidarity, which has always inspired our policies, and in favour of genuine cooperation through concrete projects, my country is doing its utmost, within its means, to respond to the requests of fraternal countries for expertise and technical assistance. Morocco will also pursue its efforts to facilitate the expansion of economic and trade relations with its African partners. We remain committed to promoting South-South cooperation and attaining the objectives and priorities of NEPAD through targeted economic and social projects that have a real impact on people’s lives.

My delegation considers that the Secretary-General’s two reports provide a good basis for our deliberations on the causes of conflict in Africa (see A/60/182) and for our annual review of progress in implementation of and international support for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) (see A/60/178). Those reports once again highlight the complexity of the multisectoral and interdependent challenges facing Africa. They identify two types of threats to sustainable peace and development in Africa that undermine all efforts to pull the continent out of its difficult situation: those of an economic nature — such as poverty, endemic disease, degradation of the environment; and those related to crises and conflicts with their accompanying atrocities, victims and displaced persons. Indeed, for our part we would add the lack of structuring in aid and in international support mechanisms, which are often only set up long after humanitarian tragedies have unfolded. The issues before us are similar in many ways. It is therefore appropriate to consider them together, for issues of peace and development are closely interlinked and should often be understood in a holistic way. With respect to security, which continues to be the key element in the maintenance of peace and for long-term development, we support the recommendations in the report of the Secretary- General on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa. They underscore the absolutely crucial necessity of allocating additional resources — human and financial — to strengthen the capacity and effectiveness of African Union (AU) peacekeeping operations in Darfur, Burundi and Somalia. In that connection, Algeria welcomes the establishment of the AU Peace and Security Council in 2004, which, with a responsible, coordinated approach, pools African conflict prevention and conflict settlement capacities. That body is now operational and African contingents are already active on the ground, particularly in Darfur. To achieve that, the AU has naturally drawn on the experience and expertise of the United Nations in the area of peacekeeping operations, closely cooperating with the Departments of Peacekeeping Operations and of Political Affairs, as well as with the Security Council, as reflected in today’s Council meeting on Côte d’Ivoire (see S/PV. 5278). In a complementary approach, but one that is just as vital, the NEPAD Secretariat has been mandated by the African Union to work out a strategic framework for post-conflict reconstruction of countries affected by crisis or conflict. This responsibility, as underscored by the report, is in no way an easy task. The African Union needs, as a result, to be able to count on steady, multifaceted support from United Nations agencies, particularly the Peacebuilding Commission, which is to be established by the end of the year, and the ad hoc advisory groups. Similarly, the contribution from donor countries and other development partners, in terms of additional financial resources and appropriate technical assistance, is greatly desired, as it would be in line with a desire to have greater effectiveness in terms of needs, as previously identified by NEPAD. With respect to aspects tied to development, my delegation supports overall what is stated in the Secretary-General’s report, where he draws in particular on the analysis and conclusions of the Advisory Panel on International Support for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, and we believe that those conclusions are fully relevant. The assessment made by that Advisory Panel highlights that, that since the second report of 2004 on the same subject and despite the considerable initiatives that have emerged since that time, such as the decision of the Group of Eight (G-8) countries in terms of debt relief and official development assistance (ODA) and the support graciously offered by other countries, Africa still has needs, because much remains to be done. If we want NEPAD, which was established by African leaders four years ago and which is gradually becoming an important player and a vital framework for any action to strengthen or support efforts at peace, reconstruction or sustainable development for Africa and if we want NEPAD to avoid the fate of other attempts in the past, it is urgent and necessary to greatly increase the level of ODA, to attack the debt problem more resolutely and to encourage foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa in order to enable that continent to achieve robust, sustained growth and to be integrated into the global economy. In terms of the implementation of programmes for Africa, a brief look at the structure of spending tells us that much of the expenditure is actually being absorbed by humanitarian needs, thereby leaving a greatly reduced margin for support for reconstruction efforts. There can be no lasting peace in societies that are either openly or latently affected by poverty, unemployment, famine or disease. In the African context, nothing better illustrates the commitment of Africa to strengthen the stability and peace that are necessary to its development than the establishment within NEPAD of an African Peer Review Mechanism. This Mechanism submits African countries that have voluntarily signed up to it to a review on compliance with agreed standards in terms of governance and democracy. Through their commitment to this approach, African countries are demonstrating their commitment to establish the basis for an African society that is open to the world and perfectly integrated — that is, respectful of human rights and imbued with democratic values and good governance. It is this vision of a remodelled Africa that NEPAD is seeking to promote via a comprehensive strategy and ambitious and productive programmes. The many reasons listed in the report of the Secretary-General on NEPAD to explain the lack of progress made in terms of development amount to essentially two types of factors, those that are internal, such as political instability, insecurity, the lack of basic physical infrastructure, small markets and the low rate of flows of trade among African countries themselves; and then there are the external reasons, such as ongoing discriminatory rules and obstacles to trade facing Africa, as well as the slow pace of disbursement of resources that are due or have been pledged to support efforts on the part of the international community, particularly with respect to the priorities defined by NEPAD. On the whole, I share this analysis, but let me make two comments. With respect to the private sector, the report emphatically highlights the role of that sector as a motor for development, for creating jobs and for producing exports. From this standpoint, Algeria is one of those countries that believe that there is a need to place the private sector at the very centre of economic activities as a key driving force for growth and development. However, we do need to point out that, given that the private sector is essentially driven by the quest for profit, it would not be reasonable to fully replace ODA by private investment. The other point where we have serious misgivings has to do with the assertion that a reduction in agricultural subsidies in the European Union countries and in the United States would be harmful to many African countries, which are net importers of agricultural products. This assertion does not seem to take into account the importance of agriculture in many African economies, most of which are export-driven and, therefore, suffer from these subsidies given by European countries and the United States to their agricultural sectors. Our heads of State and Government, who met last September for the five-year review of the Millennium Development Goals, gave special attention to Africa and NEPAD in their consensus document. They laid out the framework and identified actions to be undertaken in order to assist in the development of Africa in general and to implement NEPAD programmes in particular, both by working to provide the ongoing coordinated support needed and by assisting African countries to mobilize considerable financial resources to ensure the development of the continent and the implementation of programmes. The United Nations system has a road map and clear objectives that it needs to achieve. To do this, it needs to improve the quality and effectiveness of its programmes and step up its efforts to complement the aid that it is providing to Africa with appropriate advocacy and financing activities.

Italy fully aligns itself with the statement made by the representative of the United Kingdom on behalf of the European Union and wholeheartedly supports the lines of action in support of Africa presented in that statement. As Italy’s national contribution to today’s debate, I wish to make a few additional remarks. Let me first thank the Secretary-General, as well as the Special Adviser on Africa, for the latest reports on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the causes of conflict in Africa, which provide a most useful background to our debate and whose conclusions and recommendations we share. This debate is the first opportunity for the General Assembly to assess the outcome of the United Nations summit from an African perspective and to follow up the commitment to address the special needs of Africa that were solemnly made by our heads of State and Government. The views expressed today, particularly those by African Member States, remind us of the need to pursue all efforts to advance the development agenda and provide useful input to our Organization, especially now, as the United Nations addresses the challenge of how to ensure the implementation of the outcome document in all its components. This annual debate also provides a unique opportunity for the United Nations to assess the progress made in the implementation of NEPAD and the support provided by the international community. Italy is glad to acknowledge that a large number of African countries continue to make substantial progress in both the development and the security areas, as highlighted in the Secretary-General’s two reports. NEPAD policies continue to be implemented in the areas of infrastructure, information and communication technology, health, education, environment, tourism, agriculture and industry. Indices show sustained growth for a higher number of countries than in the recent past. The African Peer Review Mechanism is now fully in place. The countries of the continent are increasingly aware of the importance of good governance and the rule of law. The number of major conflicts is decreasing. Democracy is flourishing, and free and fair elections are successfully taking place in many parts of the continent. Finally, the African Union and African subregional organizations have assumed a leadership role in their respective areas of competence, particularly in those of peace and security. Africa’s partners have also enhanced their support for NEPAD following a number of important steps taken by the United Nations, the European Union and the Group of Eight (G-8), as well as within the context of South-South cooperation. What the Secretary-General calls “unprecedented mobilization of international public opinion in support of Africa” (A/60/178, summary) has also played a major role, which we must continue to keep alive through appropriate communication strategies. However, we should be realistic. For Africa to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by the date that has been set, and in order to take advantage of the momentum generated by the recent summit, efforts must be redoubled, commitments must be honoured and implementation must be ensured. Italy will continue to contribute substantially to those efforts, both bilaterally and multilaterally. Let me just mention some of the areas where my Government has focused its recent efforts. We have cancelled $2.8 billion of debt owed by African countries. For 12 countries that means cancellation of their entire outstanding debt. The resources freed up in that way are used by beneficiary countries to finance national poverty-reduction and development plans. Italy also supports the swift implementation of the recent G-8 initiative to cancel all debt owed to multilateral financial institutions by African countries of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative. Italy is the third largest donor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, having thus far contributed $745 million, and actively promotes the Fund’s financing of viable and effective projects in Africa. Approximately 50 per cent of Italy’s official development assistance is directed to Africa. A large share of those resources goes to agriculture and food security programmes, in coordination with United Nations agro-food agencies and in accordance with NEPAD priorities. Integrated rural development is an important component of our efforts, that includes such major programmes in sub-Saharan Africa as the ones in Keita, Niger, and in Arsi and Bale, Ethiopia, which are worth $75 million each. Programmes to combat desertification and protect the environment have recently been launched in Southern Africa, alongside our traditional support to West Africa through the Club du Sahel. Italy shoulders approximately 5 per cent of the United Nations peacekeeping budget, most of which is devoted to Africa, and cooperates with our G-8 partners to enhance African peacekeeping capacities. Working jointly with the United States in Vicenza, Italy, we have established the Centre of Excellence for Stability Police Units, which will train specialized police units, particularly from African countries, for participation in peace-support operations. Training classes will start next month and will include the participation of several officers coming from four African countries. Italy also supports the peacebuilding and good-governance activities for African civilian personnel that are jointly managed by the University of Pisa, Italy, and the University of Accra, Ghana, which involve trainees from 21 African countries. Italy promotes the advancement of democracy in Africa through direct support, in cooperation with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), for the Parliaments of eight African countries. We have also helped to finance elections in four African countries in 2005, operated partnerships with three African countries in the area of e- government, and provided substantial resources to the DESA-led African governance inventory programme, involving 28 countries of the African continent. Several initiatives have also been launched to promote Italian private investment flows to Africa, in the belief that access to global markets, trade, private investment and entrepreneurship are powerful engines that will drive African growth and development. Last but not least, Italy contributes to the preservation of African artistic and cultural heritage. The most important example of that is the recent return to Ethiopia of the Axum obelisk. Italy welcomes an active role for the United Nations in promoting and supporting NEPAD. Actually, that is yet one more reason to strengthen the United Nations system and make multilateralism truly effective, as was pledged by our leaders in the Hall just one month ago. In conclusion, I wish to join other speakers in reaffirming the need for renewed African efforts and continued tangible international support. Italy looks forward to advancing, with all partners, the implementation phase of our commitments, in the spirit of the mutual accountability and enhanced partnership emerging within the Africa Partnership Forum.

It has been four years since the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) was launched by African leaders. The results since then have been mixed. While there has been progress in many areas — as evidenced by the Secretary-General’s third consolidated report on progress in implementation and international support for NEPAD (A/60/178) and by economic improvements across the continent — it is also a fact that Africa still faces many daunting challenges. Those include the lack of a well-integrated transportation infrastructure, massive debt, the lack of sufficient foreign direct investment flows and huge gaps in the health and education sectors, including the serious threat posed by HIV/AIDS. Those are massive, but not insurmountable, problems. The important thing is that through NEPAD African leaders have signalled that they are committed to resolving the continent’s problems and taking responsibility for creating the right political conditions for development. As Nigeria’s President Obasanjo recently remarked, Africa is a continent on the move. As a result, there is now greater focus at the international level on Africa’s development problems. NEPAD has become in many ways the key mechanism through which multilateral financial institutions and development partners are seeking to engage Africa. The report of the United Kingdom-led Commission for Africa entitled “Our common interest” and that of the United Nations Millennium Project (A/59/727) testify to that. Those reports have not only provided independent analysis and offered some remedies for Africa’s problems; they have reinforced the good work being done by NEPAD. In many ways, NEPAD drives home the message that developing countries have no choice but to adopt and implement their own national development strategies. That is also in line with Singapore’s own thinking that there is no one-size-fits-all model of development and that it is important for Governments to take charge of their own national strategies, as they are the ones that should know what is in the best interests of their peoples. However, there is also no denying that there are some basic ingredients that must be part of any national development strategy. Unless we get those basics right, national strategies are unlikely to work or to have the kind of major, positive impact that we would like to see them have in terms of making improvements in the lives of our citizens. Paul Wolfowitz, the President of the World Bank, alluded to those basic ingredients in his recent Annual Meetings address to the World Bank Group in Washington, D.C., when he said, “We know that sustained economic growth is essential for development and reducing poverty. And we also know that many of the drivers are not measurable in numerical terms. Because they are harder to measure, harder to predict and often harder to influence, there is a tendency to discount these factors as ‘soft’. “That would be a mistake — because sustainable development depends as much on leadership and accountability, on civil society and women, on the private sector and on the rule of law, as it does on labour or capital.” Singapore’s own development experience over the past 40 years corroborates Mr. Wolfowitz’s analysis of the basic ingredients that are necessary for sustained economic growth. Our first goal in Singapore when we became independent, in 1965, was to shape the Government into an effective instrument of policy. That required strong, fair and just leaders who not only commanded the respect of the people but who had a sense of trusteeship: that they were only temporarily in charge of the destinies of their people and that their duty was not only to discharge that trust but also pass it on to equally trustworthy and competent hands. Strong measures were put in place to eradicate corruption. At the same time, the political leadership was backed up by a neutral, efficient and honest civil service, with officers being recruited and promoted solely on merit. We also pursued an economic policy that was pragmatic and not dogmatic. While we rejected colonialism, we accepted our colonial heritage. We recognized that continuity with the past helped one’s evolution into new growth sectors. We therefore encouraged European, American, Japanese and all other businesses to stay and expand their investments. We avoided the seductive trap of nationalization of commerce, industry, land and property. We rejected the conventional wisdom and political correctness of the 1960s, and even the 1970s, of being anti-multinational-corporation. We did not accept the theology that multinational corporations would reduce countries to what economists have referred to as “dependencia”. On the contrary, we assiduously courted foreign investment by multinational corporations irrespective of their nationality. The fact was that multinational corporations had the technology, know-how, techniques, expertise and markets. We decided it was a fast way of learning on the job to work for them and with them. Indeed, multinational corporations have been a powerful factor in Singapore’s growth. Another key pillar of our national development strategy is education. For a small country without any natural resources except its human resources there is no other option but for everyone to be literate and knowledgeable in order to receive knowledge and to participate and add value. That is the only way for any country, in particular a small country, to stay ahead of the global competition. That is also the underlying philosophy of the Singapore Cooperation Programme, which was started in 1993 to help provide training to other developing countries in areas where we have developed some expertise over the years. Singapore discovered early on that there were few problems confronting us that others had not confronted. We therefore learned from others and did not re-invent the wheel unnecessarily, except to suit our own specific circumstances. For the same reason, we believe in sharing our development experience with others, including our African friends. We recognize that our experience might not be relevant to some, but we are prepared and happy to share it with whoever might find it useful. Under the Singapore Cooperation Programme we have provided human resource training to more than 36,000 officials from 160 countries, including 3,700 officials from 47 African countries. Under the Japan- Singapore Partnership Programme for the Twenty-first Century and the Singapore Commonwealth of Learning Joint Training Programme we have tailored our courses to meet the needs of our African friends, for example, by offering a course on human resources management in the civil service. We are prepared to tailor more courses, and we welcome continued African participation in the courses of the Singapore Cooperation Programme. Apart from training courses, Singapore has also hosted a number of African study visits and has sponsored consultancy projects in response to the specific requests received from individual African countries. For example, just last month, 13 of South Africa’s heads of mission in Asian countries visited Singapore to learn about Singapore’s experience in the promotion of international trade. Those are some of the small things that we have done, and will continue to do, in the area of human resources training to help contribute, within our limited resources, to African development. The great African historian Joseph Ki-Zerbo used to say that it is impossible to develop other people. You can only develop by yourself, be the author of your own development. NEPAD aims to do just that. But, I would like to add to that by saying that a bit of help from the outside world is always helpful, especially when you are starting out, as is the case with NEPAD, which is only four years old. As much as NEPAD is a regional initiative, the fact remains that Africa, and for that matter most of us, cannot do it alone, even under the best of circumstances. When Singapore became independent, in 1965, and despite being a free port and having fairly extensive connections with the rest of the world, we turned to the United Nations, and in particular the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to provide us with technical assistance and economic advice. The same should be done by countries in Africa and elsewhere that are stuck in the poverty trap. As Professor Jeffrey Sachs noted in a Time magazine essay dated 14 March 2005, “perhaps most pertinent today, many regions that got left furthest behind have faced special obstacles and hardships: diseases such as malaria, drought-prone climates in locations not suitable for irrigation, extreme isolation in mountains and landlocked regions ... and other liabilities that have kept these areas outside of the mainstream of … economic growth. [Those countries] face challenges almost unknown in the rich world, challenges that are at first harrowing to contemplate”. In a globalized post-cold-war world, how well countries succeed will depend upon how best they are able to plug themselves into the global economic grid. The alternative to that, which is really not an alternative, is marginalization. In that regard, we in Asia have been very encouraged by the Declaration adopted by leaders at the April 2005 Asian-African Summit to focus cooperation on three key pillars, namely, political, economic and social and cultural relations. The international community, especially the United Nations and other development institutions, can, and should, continue to help African Governments formulate national strategies in order to bring them into the mainstream. Unless we all do so, there is a real danger that Africa will continue to lag behind the rest of the world, despite the best efforts of its leaders and peoples. In that regard, we welcome the recent decision taken by the Group of Eight countries, as well as that taken subsequently by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, to cancel the outstanding debt of highly indebted poor countries. We look forward to its outright and up-front implementation. If the sense of injustice and unfairness becomes too great, one way or another the problems of Africa will become those of the rest of the world. Economic globalization, while providing countries with unlimited choice and markets, has also highlighted the problems of poverty, terrorism and disease. It is true that challenges and opportunities are two sides of the same coin. The reward for taking on the challenges of globalization is to gain access to external markets. It is therefore in our collective self- interest to work with our African friends through NEPAD to balance both the upside and the downside of economic globalization. In conclusion, let me say that there is no doubt that strong national leadership backed by regional peer review and international support offers a powerful combination to improve the performance of Governments. As the third progress report on NEPAD has correctly pointed out, “The central challenge is to grasp the opportunity and maintain the momentum by ensuring that African Governments intensify their efforts to implement NEPAD, while the development partners honour their commitments to support Africa.” (A/60/178, summary) I am confident that both Africa and its development partners and friends will rise up to that challenge. In the words of President Thabo Mbeki, this is, after all, “Africa’s season of hope”. We must work together with Africa to ensure that our common development goals are achieved.

My delegation is honoured to participate in this debate on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). Through the Secretary-General’s third consolidated report (A/60/178), we have followed with interest the progress achieved by the international community on the NEPAD initiative and the support it has provided. We have done so because Kuwait attaches great importance to that question, as it pertains to the interests and concerns of African countries, with which we maintain close historic ties. Four years have elapsed since African leaders adopted the NEPAD initiative, which aims to achieve balanced growth on a large scale and to enable Africa to alleviate poverty and better integrate into the world economy. Kuwait hopes that the resolutions adopted at numerous international conferences with the aim of achieving sustainable development, as well as the decisions contained in the outcome document of the High-level Plenary Meeting (resolution 60/1), will help to establish the foundation for partnerships between developed and developing countries that will contribute to enhancing stability and mutual economic relations by putting in place fair and balanced rules for international trade, under which each party would assume its own share of the responsibility for meeting the special needs of Africa. Attempts by African countries to escape the vicious cycle of eliminating the debt burden, on the one hand, and ensuring financial resources for their development goals, on the other, is one of the most significant challenges facing the African continent. The fact that some heavily indebted African countries have benefited from the cancellation of bilateral debt announced by some donor countries — including the decision taken by the Group of Eight to cancel 100 per cent of the $40 billion in debt owed by 18 low-income countries, among them 14 African countries — is a positive development that has drawn our attention. Long before NEPAD was announced, Kuwait had already moved to alleviate African countries’ debt burdens. This was demonstrated in an address by His Highness the Emir of Kuwait before the forty-third session of the General Assembly, in 1988, in which he called upon the international community, especially the donor countries, to take action to alleviate the debt burdens encumbering the economies of many developing countries, and to cancel them for countries with distressed economies. The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) has contributed to the alleviation of the external debt burden for 14 African countries within the framework of the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative. The debts owed to the Fund by these countries were reduced by rescheduling them over a period of 40 years, including a 16-year grace period, with interest rates ranging from 0.5 per cent to 2 per cent. These terms were considered more attractive and easier to meet than the initial terms for those loans. Moreover, the Fund is in the process of alleviating the debts of other African countries as soon as they reach the completion point within the framework of the Initiative. Here, I would like to mention the role of the Fund of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which operates within the HIPC Initiative to alleviate the foreign debts of 18 African countries, as an aspect of the principle of partnership among developing countries themselves. Solving the problem of external debt or cancelling debts will be neither practical nor effective unless, along with those steps, funds needed for development assistance are also provided. Kuwait can say with pride that it has abided by all of its international obligations and that, through KFAED, it continues to contribute to economic development programmes in developing countries. This Fund has granted development loans in the amount of $12 billion to more than 100 countries around the world, 40 per cent of which are in Africa. As a percentage of its gross national product (GNP), overall average Kuwaiti official development assistance is equal to nearly twice the agreed United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of the GNP of developed countries. KFAED has contributed resources to many development institutions in Africa. For example, through the middle of 2005, the African Development Fund (ADF) had been granted development assistance amounting to $196.7 million, while the African Development Bank received $115 million, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa received $48 million and the Special Programme for Sub- Saharan African Countries Affected by Drought and Desertification, within the International Fund for Agricultural Development, received financial aid amounting to $15 million. Through mid-2005, KFAED has also provided grants and technical assistance valued at around $313 million. The Fund has made donations to many rehabilitation programmes, contributing to the success of the first programme to combat river blindness by providing more than $100 million to 11 African countries. The Kuwait Fund’s contributions continued until the fifth stage of the programme in 2003 and covered another 19 African countries, including Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, United Republic of Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is worth mentioning here the Fund’s contribution to the Tropical Disease Foundation, of which the Fund is a founding member. We have also contributed to the International Development Law Institute, which has brought benefits to many African countries. In his third consolidated report on progress in implementation and international support for NEPAD (A/60/178), the Secretary-General warns of grave consequences of the accumulation of debt due to the continued surge in oil prices, especially for low- income, non-oil-producing countries. Increasing oil prices in the 1970s and 1980s, he adds, were one of the main reasons behind the debt crisis from which many African countries currently suffer. This is an attempt to simplify a complicated issue. Moreover, it ignores many similar factors that accompanied the debt crisis of the 1970s and 1980s, including a drop in the income of African countries from the revenues of their basic commodities, as well as tax limitations and taxes imposed on goods from developing countries. Oil prices, just like the prices any basic commodities, can be affected by many factors, including geographical and economic circumstances, as well as speculation, a component of Western stock markets and hedge funds. Kuwait works diligently to ensure the stability of the international oil market in order to maintain the pace of economic development and growth for everyone. Through the OPEC Fund, Kuwait has made effective contributions to many development projects in developing countries, with 99 countries benefiting from assistance offered by the Fund, including 46 African States. The volume of soft loans granted through January 2004 amounted to $5.382 billion. This principle of partnership includes the OPEC Fund’s contribution to the capital of the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) as well as grants to assist countries in subscribing to the CFC, and the OPEC Fund’s contribution to the special account to fight HIV/AIDS. Partnership is not a temporary process but rather a continuing long-term and painstaking effort requiring patience and constant assessment. In Kuwait and through the continued participation of KFAED in the ministerial meetings of the South African Development Community since the early 1980s, we have witnessed the emergence and growth of the idea of the NEPAD initiative, which demonstrates the existence of an African renaissance policy. This idea, this new partnership for success will become a reality because of the African determination to make it succeed. Contributing to the success of this partnership will be the international community’s commitment to fulfilling the pledges it has made.

Canada appreciates this opportunity to record its observations and to reaffirm its commitments as we take stock together of progress in the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). When the NEPAD initiative was launched in 2002, Canada welcomed it as an ambitious, yet realistic, framework to achieve sustainable development and reduce poverty in Africa. Best of all, it was a plan that was created and owned by Africa itself. It offered a vision to bring that magnificent continent fully into the global economy and to realize its tremendous potential. By adopting NEPAD, the African Union and its members not only demonstrated their commitment to improving governance, they also provided a means for the international community to join them in partnership in support of Africa’s development. NEPAD has had Canada’s enthusiastic support from the outset. As president of the Group of Eight (G-8) in 2002, Canada worked with our partners to produce the G-8 Africa Action Plan, launched at the G-8 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada, in June 2002 in response to NEPAD’s priorities. The Africa Action Plan is working. NEPAD is making a difference. Governance has improved in many countries. Economic growth for the continent is projected at over 5 per cent in 2005, reflecting improvements in economic and corporate management. Africans themselves have provided leadership and have achieved significant progress in resolving several of the conflicts that have held back development, destroyed lives and impaired the futures of so many. As I observed, this progress has been by achieved by Africans themselves, from those in positions of leadership to those who work in communities, in order to ensure that Africa assumes its rightful place in the global community and that Africans fulfil their full potential. But despite the progress that has been achieved, so much more needs to be done, both by Africa and by its development partners, if we are to realize the NEPAD vision. Progress toward realizing the Millennium Development Goals in much of Africa has been disappointing. The toll of conflict and infectious disease continues to be devastating. Poverty remains widespread. As a sad result, too much of the energy and creativity of Africans is focused on short-term survival, instead of long-term development. That is what must change. That is why we must redouble our collective efforts to translate today’s NEPAD ideals into tomorrow’s reality. Canada has always viewed NEPAD as a long- term commitment. It is essential that we, and the broader international community, working together with Africa, sustain our commitment to allow time for implementation of NEPAD’s principles and programmes so that they may yield positive results. It is for this reason that we were pleased that Africa was at the centre of the agenda of the G-8 Summit at Gleneagles in July. The G-8 leaders met with their counterparts from a number of African countries and renewed their commitment to this partnership and their long-term engagement. As we move into the implementation phase of NEPAD, one of the most promising developments is the African Peer Review Mechanism. That mechanism demonstrates the commitment of many African Governments to improving governance. We welcome the fact that 23 African countries have now signed on to this bold and innovative initiative. The first reviews have now been launched, and we look forward to the release of reports — those on Ghana and Rwanda — in the months ahead. Canada joins others in supporting African efforts to prevent, mediate and resolve regional conflicts and in supporting Africa’s peacekeeping capacity. Canada has been proud to provide assistance to the African Union Mission in Sudan in its vital role in enhancing security in Darfur. Turning briefly to economic matters, let me state our conviction that Africa’s sustained economic growth requires, among other things, the unlocking of the capacity of the private sector in Africa and the continent’s integration into the global economy. Earlier this year, Canada launched the Canada Investment Fund for Africa, a public-private initiative designed to provide risk capital for private investments in Africa. In launching this fund, we hope to encourage foreign investment that will have a positive impact on the continent’s development. Canada is also committed to an ambitious outcome to the Doha Development Round. Developed countries’ markets must be opened to African producers. In 2003, Canada opened its markets to virtually all products from the least developed countries. Agricultural export subsidies must be eliminated, if we are to create an even playing field for producers from developing countries in Africa and around the world. Equally important, Africa, with the support of development partners, must work to build its capacity to trade and compete in the global economy. Development assistance will continue to play a significant role in advancing the NEPAD agenda. Canada is fulfilling its commitment made in 2002 to increase ODA by 8 per cent per year with over 50 per cent of that amount being directed to Africa. Canadian official development assistance to Africa will double between 2003 and 2009. One of the priority sectors of our development assistance is health, particularly combating HIV/AIDS. Total Canadian contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria since its inception are now nearly 550 million Canadian dollars. We will continue to work in common cause to defeat these devastating diseases. Canada is committed to the NEPAD partnership over the long run. We are encouraged by the progress that has been achieved. We are conscious of the urgent need to achieve so much more. We are determined to continue working with our African partners. We support their efforts to address the challenges that Africa faces. Together, we will enable the continent to realize its full potential for the benefit of all its people and to the advantage of the entire world.

My delegation aligns itself with the statements made earlier by the distinguished representative of Jamaica on behalf of the Group of 77 and China and by the distinguished representative of Malaysia on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). We note with pleasure the encouraging report by the Secretary-General on the implementation of and international support for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). As reflected in that report, substantive progress has been made in the promotion of peace and sustainable development in Africa. Many programmes and projects have been designed to cover all essential sectors with a view to moving African countries towards a higher level of economic and social development. We are encouraged by the fact that the Group of Eight (G-8) has decided to grant a 100 per cent multilateral cancellation of the debt owed to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the African Development Bank by 18 low-income countries, 14 of which are African countries. The establishment of the African Peer Review Mechanism with the participation of 23 countries will serve as a useful instrument for promoting sustainable development in Africa as a whole. We also note, however, that amid those positive developments, many difficulties and challenges remain for Africa. The Human Development Report 2005 shows that while there has been considerable progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals, many African countries lag far behind and are in danger of not attaining the Goals by 2015. Fifty countries, with a combined population of approximately 900 million people, are actually moving backwards in one or more of the development areas. Almost half those countries are in the poverty-stricken sub-Saharan region of Africa. As also mentioned in the report, most regions in Africa continue to be severely affected by food crises triggered by natural disasters, conflicts, political instability, economic failure, the HIV/AIDS pandemic and other diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and polio. If current trends continue, there will be more than 800 million people living in abject poverty by 2015. Child mortality statistics depict a stark picture of health care in numerous countries. At the current pace, the goal of reducing the child mortality rate will be met 30 years late. As indicated in the report of the Secretary- General, a sharp increase in international aid to Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa, is absolutely essential for the social and economic development of the continent. Viet Nam welcomes the pledges by individual members of the Group of Eight to increase or even double aid to Africa, and the commitments by members of the European Union to double their development assistance from 2004 to 2010, with at least 50 per cent of the increase being earmarked for sub-Saharan Africa. We join others in echoing the call to development partners to fulfil their official development assistance pledges for African countries. Trade continues to be another very important factor for the majority of African countries. To help them in that connection, developed countries should further open their markets to exports from African countries and take necessary measures to eliminate their agriculture export subsidies and trade-distorting policies. Peace and stability are prerequisites for economic development. The report of the Secretary-General on the causes of conflict and promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa (A/60/182) emphasizes that the African countries, the United Nations and the international community need to increase their efforts to prevent and resolve conflicts, strengthen peacekeeping capacities and enhance cooperation and coordination among international and regional institutions. We commend the efforts of the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States to play a greater role in peacekeeping, and we applaud the African Union’s establishment last year of the Peace and Security Council. We believe that the engagement of African countries in peacekeeping operations will contribute to peace and stability in the continent. As complementary support to the efforts made by the United Nations system and the entire international community, South-South cooperation plays a substantial role in promoting Africa’s social and economic development. The Asia-Africa Summit held in Indonesia last April adopted a declaration on the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership, which expressed strong support for NEPAD as the African Union’s programme for growth and socio-economic development, and endorsed the need to promote practical cooperation between the two regions in areas such as trade, tourism, investment, industry, finance, information and communication technology, energy, health, agriculture and transportation. Successful cooperation between the two continents, which have many similar conditions and which have always maintained close traditional ties, will certainly contribute greatly to their peace, stability and development. As an Asian country, a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that is highly supportive of both NEPAD and the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership, and as a close friend and partner of Africa over the past years, Viet Nam has continued to promote multifaceted cooperation with African countries. Hundreds of Vietnamese experts in the fields of education, health care and agriculture continue working in a number of African countries under bilateral and tripartite cooperation agreements. As our relations of friendship and cooperation with Africa grow, let me reaffirm our commitment to working with all partners towards the implementation and the success of NEPAD.

Before I turn to the item under consideration, allow me, on behalf of the Government of Senegal, to convey our sincere thanks to all Members of the Organization and the bodies and the agencies of the United Nations system for the constant assistance and support that they provide to the African continent. With the meeting of the Council of the European Union, the Group of Eight Gleneagles summit and the recent summit of heads of State and Government at the General Assembly, the year 2005 has seen a wealth of high-level meetings in which Africa was at the centre of the discussion. We consider that to be a sign of faith in the future of our continent. It is a gesture of particular significance to us as Africans. At the outset, I wish to pay tribute to the high quality of the two reports of the Secretary-General related to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD): the third consolidated report on progress in implementation and international support (A/60/178) and the progress report on implementation of the recommendations contained in the report of the Secretary-General on the causes of conflict and promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa (A/60/182). The two reports are uncompromising and clear-sighted in their description of the implementation of NEPAD and the conflicts in Africa. They propose a broad array of relevant recommendations, which, if implemented, could contribute decisively to promoting peace and sustainable development in Africa. Since this morning, much has been said, and said well, about the contents of those two reports and on the challenges that call on us to tackle our common cause of finding solutions to the problems of the African continent. For my part, I would like briefly to share a few observations about what my country regards as the prerequisites for real recovery in Africa. I am thinking of the problem of the external debt of African countries and the worrisome question of the integration of African countries into the world trading system. With respect to debt, while we should welcome the recent decision of the Group of Eight to assist 14 highly indebted poor countries of Africa, including Senegal, we must acknowledge that the problem of African debt remains acute. Solving that problem requires bolder, more extensive measures that benefit a large number of countries, including middle-income countries. The Evian approach initiated by the Paris Club provides a good framework for extending debt relief to a broader range of countries; my country hopes that such an initiative will be taken. Clearly, current debt relief initiatives enable our countries to use precious resources for financing development, but they do not ensure our debt sustainability. That is why my country fully supports the recommendation of the Secretary-General to assess a country’s sustainable level of debt at a level that permits the country to achieve the Millennium Development Goals without suffering a deterioration of its debt ratio from now to 2015. We fervently hope that this recommendation will be received positively by the multilateral financial institutions, in particular the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. With respect to trade, the gradual phase-out of preferential tariff regimes for African commodities that were in place before the conclusion of the Uruguay Round resulted in significant losses in export income for our countries. The expected benefits of the increased liberalization of world trade, which were to compensate for those losses, did not materialize, due to the lack of access to foreign markets for our products. That, in short, is the problematic nature of our continent’s participation in the world trading system. Removing tariff and non-tariff barriers, eliminating subsidies and improving and diversifying supply are the proposed solutions for resolving the problem; they are well known and need no further elaboration. I shall limit myself to recalling the proposal of the President of the Republic of Senegal, His Excellency Abdoulaye Wade, to replace the debt-and- aid equation with the option that offers salvation: growth to eliminate poverty and trade to create growth. With that formulation, President Wade is not in any way denying the vital importance and usefulness of loans and aid. Far from it, because, in the current emergency, the impact of resources stemming from loans and aid on the living conditions of millions of men and women throughout Africa is a matter of survival. Rather, for President Wade, it is a question of recognizing that, in the light of a half century of valiant development efforts by African countries, Africa’s route to globalization is through trade. The challenge for us, therefore, is to create the conditions for trade. Recent events show that whenever the international community has the will and the resolve to do so, it has been able to tackle challenges requiring greater resources and much bolder decisions than those required to better integrate Africa in the world trading system. Africa, for its part, must further demonstrate its conviction that trade is the path of redemption for its development, and our development partners should tangibly demonstrate their resolve to help us better integrate into world trade. To conclude, I would like briefly to share two observations prompted by the two reports of the Secretary-General. First, peace and stability in Africa will remain precarious until our countries achieve economic and social progress, which is the justification for NEPAD. Secondly, the international community’s commitment to assisting Africa is real, as is the determination of our countries to implement NEPAD. However, making a commitment is one thing; honouring that commitment in a timely manner is another. Let us act together in solidarity so that our expectations can be quickly fulfilled, marking the beginning of a new era in which Africa frees itself forever from the misfortunes of underdevelopment and becomes a genuine participant in the shared peace and prosperity of our global village.

Four years after the adoption of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the results are mixed. Could it be otherwise when the international community’s commitments to Africa are still being awaited? Africa requires considerable outside assistance to tackle underdevelopment. The recent calls of the United Kingdom’s Commission for Africa and the Millennium Project team confirm that fact. But what exactly is the situation? One should recall, at least, that the recent world summit reaffirmed the determination of international financial donors to respond to Africa’s needs so that it could be fully integrated into the world economy. Implementation of NEPAD requires coordinated efforts and action at the national, subregional, regional and international levels, which poses enormous multifaceted challenges and therefore requires the assistance of all stakeholders. The report of the Secretary-General (A/60/178) underlines the major challenges to implementation of NEPAD. Let me mention three of them. The first is strengthening the capacity of national and regional institutions responsible for promoting NEPAD. That challenge is a top priority, especially because institutional weakness can pose an obstacle to formulating, carrying out and monitoring projects. The second is the need for greater coherence and better coordination between national development plans and the NEPAD priorities, given that a harmonization of actions at the country and continental levels is essential for achieving the expected results. The third and most important challenge is financing. Our partners’ commitment to predictable, regular financing is essential if we are properly to carry out the agreed development plans and programmes in NEPAD. In order for NEPAD to be a successful partnership, effective key actions must be taken immediately, in particular through more substantial and better targeted aid, broader debt relief and an increase of private capital flows. For their part, African countries remain determined to undertake economic, social and political reforms. Good governance is gaining ground. Testimony of that is the enthusiasm for the African Peer Review Mechanism, which 23 countries, including Burkina Faso, have joined. We take this opportunity to thank all African countries and development partners that have made a financial contribution to the Review Mechanism. Nonetheless, our optimism is tempered by the numerous armed conflicts that afflict our continent and prevent the attainment of development goals. Africa therefore requires a climate of peace and security. We must strive for that by strengthening existing mechanisms for conflict management and resolution, and we must strive to put in place the appropriate frameworks for strengthening peace and the economic recovery of countries emerging from conflict. We welcome with great satisfaction the decision of the recent world summit to create a Peacebuilding Commission. The rapid establishment of the Commission will undoubtedly contribute to curbing post-conflict difficulties. Finally, insofar as they have become a problem for development, the fight against AIDS and malaria is a priority of NEPAD. Unfortunately, the actions taken to eradicate those scourges are too disparate and — more important — insufficient. Africa needs a true continent-wide programme if it is to effectively fight AIDS and malaria; combating those pandemics is a matter of extreme urgency. With regard to malaria in particular, we continue to hope that the quick-win initiatives provided for in the 2005 World Summit Outcome document (resolution 60/1) will enable Africa to benefit from the international community’s actions, particularly through the distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets and the provision of free antimalaria therapies. We believe that Africa does have the potential for self-fulfilment. It asks only for support through responsible partnership based on mutual interests.

I align myself with the statements made by the representatives of Namibia on behalf of the African Group and of Jamaica on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. I would like to express my appreciation to the Secretary-General for his comprehensive report on progress on implementation and international support for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) (A/60/178) and his report on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa (A/60/182). The Secretary-General’s reports indicate that despite a number of positive trends and advances in Africa, the conditions for sustained peace and development have yet to be consolidated. That is the result of economic and social threats, as well as of internal conflicts. In his address to the General Assembly, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Uganda said that Africa has travelled a long way in search of peace and stability. Today, there are various peace- and conflict- resolution efforts at the national, regional and African Union levels, because we realize that without peace Africa will remain mired in poverty and degradation. With regard to our own Great Lakes region, we hope that the Tripartite Commission, composed of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and with the participation of Burundi, will help to advance the cause of peace in the region. The Inter- Governmental Authority on Development is also working to re-establish order in Somalia. The international community, under the leadership of the United Nations, should support those efforts so that we can achieve sustainable peace. At the country level, Uganda has been fighting — single-handedly and for a long time now — the terrorists of the so-called Lord’s Resistance Army in northern Uganda. They have now been virtually wiped out from that area. The Ugandan Government is grateful to the Government of the Sudan, which has allowed our forces to operate from its soil with a view to delivering a decisive blow to those terrorists. We understand that they are now on the run. We strongly urge the international community and neighbouring countries to hunt them down and disarm them, wherever they run. In fact, a number of that terrorist group’s leaders have now been issued arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court. That should send a strong message to any would-be terrorists that the days of impunity are over. The amnesty law is still in force in Uganda, and whoever surrenders will be pardoned. Uganda, like other African countries affected by conflict, needs international cooperation and assistance to supplement its post-conflict humanitarian, rehabilitation and development programmes. We therefore strongly support the setting up, by the end of December this year, of the Peacebuilding Commission, and we are confident that we will be able to agree on its composition and on other necessary modalities. As the Secretary-General has said, the African Union needs continued international financial support to develop the African Union peacekeeping capacity and to establish the Africa Standby Force. We appreciate the support of the European Union and other donors in that endeavour. That will make NEPAD’s objective of addressing the causes of conflict and the promotion of sustainable peace and sustainable development in Africa a reality. Action is needed at the county level. Uganda has set up a NEPAD/African Peer Review Mechanism secretariat under the National Planning Authority with responsibility for coordinating activities related to NEPAD. Our commitment to NEPAD is further demonstrated by our accession to the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), which is a self- monitoring instrument, voluntarily agreed upon by States members of the African Union, for ensuring conformity with agreed good-governance policies and practices. Uganda received Peer Review Mechanism visits in February and September 2005, and provided information on political, economic and corporate governance, as well as on the development environment, as part of the assessment preparatory process. A draft country programme of action has also been provided. Efforts are being made to harmonize NEPAD programmes with and integrate them into our ongoing Government development strategies — such as the Poverty Eradication Action Plan and the Millennium Development Goal projects — with a view to accelerating poverty reduction, promoting regional and global initiatives at the country level and improving regional dialogue and cross-border projects that foster peacebuilding and crisis prevention. Other measures, such as the development of a communication and advocacy strategy for the APRM country self-assessment questionnaire, have been put in place. A programme document for APRM country self- assessment has been developed and submitted to the country office of the United Nations Development Programme seeking assistance to enable the country to kick-start the self-assessment process. Uganda has identified the following projects as a priority for the country and the region: the Kenya- Uganda oil pipeline, Mombasa port container facilities, the East African Community northern corridor road project, safe navigation on Lake Victoria, the establishment of a One-Stop border post, and the national school feeding programme. Only recently, an e-school project supported by NEPAD was inaugurated in Uganda. None of those projects will succeed without the support of the international community. That is why we welcome the commitments made in support of NEPAD, most recently in the World Summit Outcome. It is time to honour those promises and help Africa to help itself. Finally, we commend the United Nations for its leading role in advocacy and in mobilizing international support for NEPAD.

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) represents African leaders’ commitment to consolidate democracy and sound economic management, fight corruption and promote peace and security. It represents their commitment to managing natural resources in a sustainable manner and to boost investment in Africa’s most valuable asset — its people. NEPAD reflects the fundamental principle that Africans must determine Africa’s future. The United States strongly endorses its mission. Malaria remains a major threat to human health and economic welfare in many parts of the world. This is especially the case in Africa, where it kills almost 1.2 million people a year, the vast majority of victims being young children. Yearly economic losses in Africa due to malaria are about $12 billion, which accounts for a 1.3 per cent annual loss in gross domestic product growth in endemic countries. We must take the opportunity to reduce the great burden of disease posed by malaria, a disease that is both highly treatable and preventable. This past June, President Bush announced a five-year commitment of $1.2 billion by the United States for malaria prevention and treatment in Africa. The funding will be used over the next five years to prevent and treat malaria in targeted, highly endemic sub-Saharan countries. On 1 October, programmes were launched in Angola, Tanzania and Uganda. The plan is to reach 15 countries and 175 million people. That initiative is scaling up a comprehensive approach to malaria by combining proven and effective interventions for prevention and treatment. It includes expanded access to long-lasting insecticide treated nets and indoor residual spraying with approved insecticides; the prompt use of new artemisinin-based combination therapies or other effective therapies; addressing malaria in pregnancy and working in partnership with host country Governments to build on existing national programmes. Many actors are taking part in that effort, including the Gates Foundation and other private- sector partners. The work of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the World Health Organization and other multilateral partners are also key to our success. Other Governments are stepping up. At Gleneagles, the G-8 pledged to scale up action against malaria with key interventions to save the lives of 600,000 children a year by 2015 and to reduce the drag on African economies. Those combined efforts can save hundreds of thousands of lives annually and help meet the mortality goal for target countries set by the Roll Back Malaria Global Strategic Plan.

Nigeria is pleased that the consideration of the agenda item on Africa remains a plenary event, and wishes to thank the Secretary- General and his staff for the reports submitted to the Assembly. We align ourselves with the statements made by the representatives of Jamaica and Namibia on behalf of Group of 77 and China and the African Group, respectively. In his statement to the General Assembly during the general debate last September, President Olusegun Obasanjo presented a brief account on each of the troubled hot spots in Africa and highlighted the salutary efforts made by the African Union (AU) and its member countries to address conflicts in the continent. Those efforts are indicative of Africa’s commitment and determination to tackle the intractable problem of conflicts and peace. It is worth repeating that there is a link between durable peace, security and sustainable development. It is also worth underscoring the Secretary-General’s view that the notion of larger freedom also encapsulates the idea that development, security and human rights go hand in hand. His conclusion that we cannot enjoy development without security, that we cannot enjoy security without development and that we will not enjoy either without respect for human rights is even more apt in the context of the implementation of the global decisions and commitments relating to Africa. Nigeria therefore agrees with the Secretary- General’s assertion that, in this new millennium, the work of the United Nations must move our world closer to the day when all people have the freedom to choose the kinds of lives they would like to live, the access to the resources that would make those choices meaningful and the security to ensure that they can be enjoyed in peace. On the political front, developments in Africa are very encouraging for the growth of democracy and constitutional governance. African leaders have proven their resolve to oppose any unconstitutional forms of governance. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Secretary-General’s report, contained in document A/60/182, acknowledges that most African countries enjoy relatively stable political conditions and that the majority have democratically elected Governments. However, Africa cannot go it alone in its quest for, and the promotion of, durable peace and sustainable development. Nigeria therefore notes with satisfaction the range of activities undertaken by various United Nations agencies in that regard. But there is much left to be done. For that reason, we would like to emphasize that durable peace and sustainable development must be founded in an environment, at all levels, that promotes transparency, accountability, economic growth, social harmony, participation, inclusiveness and larger freedoms. To achieve that it is imperative to support and strengthen the capacity of African Governments — and especially of the African Union — to promote lasting peace and sustainable development. Nigeria calls for robust support for the establishment of the full complement of the African Peace and Security Architecture, the AU’s Continental Early Warning System and the strengthening of regional efforts to raise brigades for the African Standby Force. We salute those Governments and partners that are already assisting in that area and urge others to do the same. Nigeria welcomes the recognition in the Secretary-General’s report that “If the expected benefits of peace do not materialize, many combatants or other neglected groups, such as unemployed youth, return to arms, either in their own country or in one of the other fragile neighbouring States faced with instability.” (A/60/182, para. 48) Indeed, he stresses the urgency of the need for adequate funding for reintegration and rehabilitation. In that regard, Nigeria would like to add post-conflict recovery and reconstruction activities. Nigeria believes that the international community should also redouble its efforts to address the economic and social threats to durable peace and sustainable development identified in the Secretary-General’s report. While noting with appreciation the range of support highlighted in paragraphs 68 to 77 of the report in document A/60/182, we would like to emphasize that there should be a deliberate balance between support for peace and security activities, on the one hand, and productive activities, on the other, to foster income generation, poverty eradication, youth employment and the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other communicable diseases. Nigeria hopes that the international community will heed the Secretary-General’s call to give utmost priority to addressing the critical issues of youth and unemployment, and in particular the debilitating problems of child soldiers, as well as developing policies and programmes for the protection and empowerment of women. In sum, Nigeria expects greater cooperation and coordination of efforts in support of peace and development in Africa. Furthermore, the lessons that have been learned through the work of the Ad Hoc Advisory Groups on African countries emerging from conflict, set up by the Economic and Social Council, and the Security Council’s Ad Hoc Working Group on Africa should be reflected in the formulation of the mandate and composition of the Peacebuilding Commission. Its composition must take into account invaluable regional experiences in peacebuilding measures. Countries with such experience should be considered for membership in the Peacebuilding Commission. The year 2005 has been pivotal for Africa in several respects, principal among which was the September summit, where world leaders once more acknowledged Africa’s special needs and reaffirmed their commitment to address those needs, given that Africa remains the only continent not on track to achieve any of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In that regard, Nigeria particularly welcomes the endorsement by the summit of quick-impact initiatives — made popular by the Millennium Project — to accelerate progress in countries where the achievement of the MDGs is unlikely given current trends. We urge the Assembly to mandate the Secretary-General to request the Millennium Project to assist countries that are willing and able to adopt and implement bold national development strategies. The implementation of NEPAD will allow Africa to retain its leadership in, and ownership of, the continent’s fight to eradicate poverty and better integrate into the global economy. We commend the Secretary-General for the clarity and quality of his third report on international support for the implementation of NEPAD (A/60/178). From the report it is clear that Africa has made progress in translating some of the laudable goals of NEPAD into concrete action, especially in the core priority areas of that initiative. Three main actions will determine the success or failure of NEPAD. First, African leaders and Governments must sustain their commitment to the implementation of NEPAD. Secondly, the international community, and in particular Africa’s development partners, must deliver on their various commitments to Africa. Thirdly, there must be genuine partnership, anchored in the cardinal principles of good faith and mutual accountability, both within Africa and in the outside world, to tap into the immeasurable potential of Governments and the private sector in mobilizing internal and external resources for the implementation of NEPAD. As the Secretary General’s report clearly states, we would like to reiterate that more and better-targeted aid is needed to help countries escape the poverty trap, and that bold and integrated strategies on a scale needed to meet Africa’s myriad challenges are possible and can be implemented only through strengthened partnership. Nigeria agrees with the Secretary-General’s view that the articulation of the road map for the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme was without a doubt the most important development during the past year. Africa desperately needs a green revolution as the launching pad for its development. That should be supported by a bold and imaginative industrial programme. Happily, the priorities of NEPAD have covered those areas and more, including education, science and technology, health and infrastructure. It is abundantly clear that Africa cannot mobilize the requisite resources for the implementation of NEPAD. The international community must therefore fill the resource gaps, to accelerate the implementation and realization of the objectives of NEPAD. Notwithstanding the increase in official development assistance (ODA) to Africa, it is a matter of concern that the changing composition of aid flows could translate into fewer resources available to support the goals of NEPAD and the Millennium Development Goals. To address that anomaly, Nigeria strongly echoes the call for the channelling of more aid resources to budget support for the implementation of the key programmes and sectors of NEPAD. Nigeria commends the European Union’s commitment to disburse 50 per cent of its increased aid to sub-Saharan Africa, and it looks forward to its fulfilment. For its part, Africa is committed to strengthening its governance practices and institutions. That was demonstrated by the coming into effect of the African Peer Review Mechanism. Nigeria is one of five countries that have received support missions preparatory to the self-assessments that will pave the way for national action plans and will ultimately lead to peer review. In addition, Nigeria will redeem its pledge of $1 million to finance the Mechanism. Nigeria shares the conclusions and recommendations of the Secretary-General. In particular, Nigeria emphasizes the need for donors to honour their pledges to Africa in an expeditious manner. We hope that the next report of the Secretary- General on the implementation of NEPAD will include an analysis of the extent and level of the fulfilment of the pledges to Africa referred to in paragraph 61 of the report contained in document A/60/178. Moreover, Nigeria hopes that the international community will make efforts to coordinate the various initiatives aimed at assisting Africa. In that regard, we urge the Secretary-General to move quickly to fill the vacancy brought about by the recent appointment of the former Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Africa to a new post. Indeed, the visibility and effectiveness of the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa needs to be strengthened if the mandate of the United Nations with regard to Africa is to be fulfilled. When the Roll Back Malaria global partnership was launched, in 1998, with the goal of halving the burden of malaria by 2010, it held out the promise of the alleviation of the suffering of millions of victims around the world, particularly in Africa, where the disease is endemic. Five years away from the target date, available statistics show that as many as 3,000 children still die in Africa every day from the disease, and that affected countries will not meet even their own modest goals by that date. It is tragic that nearly all countries in which malaria is endemic are also caught in a vicious circle of disease and poverty. In Nigeria, malaria is responsible for 60 per cent of outpatient visits to hospitals, 20 per cent of infant mortality and 11 per cent of maternal deaths. Over 90 per cent of the population of Nigeria is at risk of a malaria attack each year. Nevertheless, Nigeria has taken a number of concrete steps to fight the menace. These include the introduction of a national health insurance services scheme, prompt access to appropriate treatment within 24 hours and the availability of insecticide-treated bed nets to the most vulnerable groups of society. In addition, a social welfare services scheme has been established that includes programmes on qualitative education, improving primary health-care facilities and providing social services. Given the enormity of the problem, it is obvious that African countries and the international community must rise to the challenges of malaria and related diseases. That becomes even more urgent now that certain strains of the malarial parasite have become resistant to standard medical drugs. In order to give effect and meaning to the recognition by world leaders at the 2005 summit that infectious diseases such as malaria pose severe risks for the entire world and serious challenges to the achievement of development goals, adequate and predictable domestic and external resources must be devoted to malaria prevention and control. We look forward to a review of progress in the implementation of the resolutions that will result from this debate.

My delegation will touch upon both agenda item 66 and agenda item 47. We would first like to thank the Secretary- General for his two comprehensive reports on agenda item 66 (A/60/178 and A/60/182). The year 2005 has witnessed unprecedented pledges of support for Africa at various forums, culminating in the pledges declared at the High-level Plenary Meeting, in September. Japan believes that promoting the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) will definitely contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goals in African countries. Japan welcomes the fact that African countries have made much progress in implementing NEPAD programmes since the Partnership’s launching, especially in the fields of agriculture and infrastructure. We recognize, however, that the capacities of the NEPAD secretariat and the regional economic communities, which act as its supporting bodies, need to be strengthened. To that end, Japan will continue to support capacity-building programmes by mobilizing its aid resources, including technical cooperation. We also welcome the progress we are seeing in the African Peer Review Mechanism, and we will continue to support the endeavours of African countries towards the goal of good governance, while respecting their ownership. Japan is strengthening its partnership with NEPAD through the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) process, which focuses on three areas: the consolidation of peace, poverty reduction through economic growth and human-centred development. In the interests of time, I will limit my remarks on agenda item 66 to the consolidation of peace, and will ask the Assembly to refer to my written statement in connection with the two other areas. Japan welcomes the fact that Africa has strengthened its capacity in the area of the consolidation of peace. Indeed, without support from the African Union, progress towards peace in Burundi, Darfur and Côte d’Ivoire could not have been made. Peace-related efforts by the Economic Community of West African States, the Central African Economic and Monetary Community, the Southern Africa Development Community and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development also deserve commendation. Japan truly respects the fact that the commitment of African countries to peace is now being translated into concrete action. To encourage such positive developments, Japan will organize a TICAD conference on the consolidation of peace early next year, focusing on African ownership and human security. For its part, Japan has recently enhanced its support for such actions by African countries by contributing about $61 million to such countries as Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Sudan and Burundi, as well as by disbursing emergency grant aid amounting to about $32 million to support the repatriation and resettlement of refugees and internally displaced persons in the Sudan. Allow me now to turn to agenda item 47, on the Decade to Roll Back Malaria. We are all aware that, although malaria remains a major worldwide health problem, we do have at our disposal effective tools to control the problem. In order to develop effective and sustainable strategies to combat malaria, we must not rely on fragmented approaches to disease control, but instead work to establish national health care systems. We believe that capacity-building in the public health sector is essential in that regard. At the same time, the amount of international assistance for developing countries hardest hit by malaria, especially those in Africa, needs to be increased in order to ensure universal access to health services. To scale up malaria control efforts, the Government of Japan has announced its health and development initiative, which amounts to $5 billion, and an additional contribution of $500 million in the coming years to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Also, in response to calls for “quick win” actions in the Millennium Project report, Japan has decided to donate 10 million long-lasting insecticide-treated anti-mosquito bed nets to African countries, the distribution of which has already begun. In the private sector, a Japanese company is working to provide a reliable supply of low-cost nets. We feel that NEPAD provides us with a solid framework to address the challenges confronting Africa. Japan is committed to supporting NEPAD programmes of action in such diverse areas as peace and security, health and development. With regard to malaria, Japan is prepared to work with the international community to pursue effective strategies to control its spread and eliminate the socio-economic handicap it places on many developing countries.